Definition
Makatea is defined originally as an elevated (uplifted) rim of coral reef limestone wholly or partly surrounding a volcanic island. Makatea islands refer to composite islands according to Nunn (1994) as they possess three distinct geomorphic features from the shoreline inwards: a makatea limestone, a depression with swamps and streams, and an exposed volcanic core.
Etymology: The term makatea was originally defined and used in the southern tropical Pacific (Cook Islands). It derives from the Polynesian language, probably from two words: maka (slingstone) and tea (white).
Origin: The makatea limestone consists usually of Cenozoic reef material, locally with peripheral fringes of Quaternary reef terraces deposited before island uplift (see Montaggioni and Camoin, 1997; Vacher and Quinn, 1997for reviews). The morphology of makatea islands frequently resembles that of modern barrier reefs or almost-atolls in which topography is believed to be inherited from pre-existing...
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Bibliography
Montaggioni, L. F., and Camoin, G. F., 1997. Geology of Makatea Island, Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia. In Vacher, H. L., and Quinn, T., (eds.), Geology and Hydrogeology of Carbonate Islands. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 453–474.
Nunn, P. D., 1994. Oceanic Islands. Oxford UK: Blackwell.
Purdy, E. G., and Winterer, E. L., 2006. Contradicting Barrier Reef relationships for Darwin’s Evolution of reef types. International Journal of Earth Sciences, 95, 143–167.
Vacher, H. L., and Quinn, T. 1997. Geology and Hydrogeology of Carbonate Islands. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
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Montaggioni, L.F. (2011). Makatea. In: Hopley, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Modern Coral Reefs. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2639-2_228
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